Motorcycle rack

ABSTRACT

A rack for use upon a motorcycle or other vehicle including a pair of horizontal mounting arms adapted to be secured to the frame of the motorcycle and extend rearwardly of the seat, and upwardly extending members secured to the arms and supporting a shelf whereby a load may rest upon the shelf and be lashed to the upright members thus providing carrying ability without eliminating the possibility of a second rider.

United States Patent [1 1 Raat 1 Feb. 12, 1974 1 MOTORCYCLE RACK [75]Inventor: Terry J. Raat, Seattle, Wash.

[73] Assignee: White Automotive Corporation [22] Filed: Sept. 15, 1971[21 I Appl. No; 180,556

[52] U.S. Cl. 224/39 R, 224/30 R, 224/31 [51] int. Cl...... B62j 7/04[58] Field of Search 224/39 R, 41, 31, 9, 25 A;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,625,405 12/1971 Kezar etal 224/32 A 3,318,615 5/1967 Chreist 280/289 'FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 8/1956 ltaly 224/32 R 1,087,598 2/1955 France 224/39 R757,217 9/1956 England.... 224/39 R 408,991 1924 Germany 224/39 PrimaryExaminer-Gerald Forlenza Assistant Examiner.lerold M. Forsberg 5 7 1ABSTRACT A rack for use upon a motorcycle or other vehicle including apair of horizontal mounting arms adapted to be secured to the frame ofthe motorcycle and extend rearwardly of the seat, and upwardly extendingmembers secured to the arms and supporting a shelf 7 whereby a load mayrest upon the shelf and be lashed to the upright members thus providingcarrying ability without eliminating the possibility of a second rider.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIEB FEB 1 21974 0 INVENTOR, TERRY J.RAAT meawau ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE I VENTION Another object of thepresent invention is to provide an attachment for use on the back of themotorcycle which may be used for carrying a pack sack which isspecifically designed to fit on the rack and alternatively With theincreasingly crowded conditions in the citmay be used as a universalobject carrying device.

ies and the resultant shortage of parking space for vehicles, more andmore people have turned to motorcycles as a means of transportation.Motorcycles are economical and convenient transportation and have beenacquired for use as company vehicles in some cases and the use of themotorcycle as a general transportation means is becoming more and moreacceptable to the general populace.

One of the inherent problems with a motorcycle lies in the fact thatbecause of its particular configuration, shape, and small size it leaveslittle or no place for a person to transport his possessions safely andefficiently. Attempts have been made to fasten rigid luggage carriers tomotorcycles and saddlebag arrangements have also been used in the past.

One of the disadvantages of the rigid type carrying attachment is thatit is generally permanently affixed to the vehicle and therefore must beemptied of its contents at the destination or parking area. Anotherdisadvantage is that the rigid carrying attachment is so limited in itsuse and often times it is unable to meet the immediate needs of therider. A disadvantage'of the saddlebag concept liesin the fact that itlimits the motorcycle to only one rider, with the exception of perhapsone brand of motorcycle. Another disadvantage of the use of saddlebagsis they hinder maintenance or repair of the rear section of themotorcycle.

Racks have been manufactured for carrying particular items on amotorcycle, such as for example U.S. Pat.

No. 3,495,749 granted Feb. 17, 1970, to Meadowcraft which isspecifically designed for skis.

Another item which has become extremely popular during the last fewyears is a rucksack or backpack for carrying objects at times other thanwhen hiking. Rucksacks have proven to be the most convenient and safestvway to carry objects rather than carry objects fromone arm-or clutchedto the chest using one or both arms.- I In an attempt to combine theadvantages of being able to carry a fairly large quantity of items whileriding on a motorcycle as well as'providing the ability to readilyremove these items when leaving the cycle, it is an object of "theinvention to provide a rack which 'is adapted for attachment to the rearportion of the motorcycle and the rack is adapted to secure and supportan easily removable pack or rucksack. The rack can also be used byitself to carry larger items.

As can be readily observed, the rack provides a means whereby themotorcycle rider can carry his personal belongings. Further, the rackpermits ready attachment of a conventional rucksack or the like so thatthe rider may remove' the entire parcel and carry it efficiently on hisperson. The brackets and mounting arms which provide support for therack are readily adaptable to accept racks of other configurations forspecial purposes.

An object of the present invention is to provide an interchangeablesystem of rack supports for use upon a motorcycle wherein the mountingelements'are securely attached to the vehicle and are adapted toremovably receive a variety of elements which adapt the vehicle forcarrying a variety of items.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rack for amotorcycle which is adapted to carry a pack sack or alternatively as ageneral carrying means since it includes a generally vertical portionand a generally horizontal portion whereby the objects to be carried mayrest upon the horizontal shelf and be secured BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEDRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an environmental view of the motorcycle having thepresent rack affixed thereto and showing in phantom a possible bag whichcould be used for carrying the personal items of the rider of themotorcycle.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the rack designed for use with themotorcycle; v

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the rack made in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the second embodiment of the rack;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the third embodiment of the rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS As seen in FIG. 1 the present rackisdesigned to be attached to a standard motorcycle having wheels 2 andengine 3, a seat 4 capable of holding either one or two individuals,handlebars 6, shock absorbers 8, and fenders 10 and 12. Referring to thefigures item be seen that the rack is made of tubular materials andcomprises a generally verticallydi sposed and-inverted U shaped portion20 havinga pair of spaced side rails 22 interconnected by asubstantiallystraight cross-piece 24 serving as the base of the U. The lower ends ofthe side rails 22 are bent in a converging direction at 26 to a point 28at which point the rails are a distance which approximates the distancebetween arms 31, mounting as explained hereinafter. From the point 28the rails extend downwardly are generally parallel to plane of the siderails 22. v j

The lower ends of the' side rails of the U-shaped portion 20 are reducedin cross section at 29 so that they will be respectively andtelescopically received in the mounting arms 31 having approximately thesame cross section as the U shaped portion 20.

' At approximately the bending point 28 in the hereinabove describedrack there is a rearwardly extending, generally horizontal U shapedextension or shelf 40. It can thus be seen that the combination of theinverted U shaped portion 20 and the shelf40 act much in the same way asthe frame of a conventional backpack and that a rucksack or backpack mayeasily be attached to the framework and provide adequate support for arelatively large quantity of miscellaneous personal goods.

The mounting or supporting arms generally desig- 31 adapted to bemounted on the rear portion of the motorcycle. The mounting brackets 32are secured to the forward ends of tubes 31 by a weldment or the likeand the mounting bracket 32 are adapted to be secured to the motorcycleshock absorbers. Secured to the upper surface of the mounting arms 31and spaced slightly from the brackets 32 are brackets 34 in the form ofa vertically extending ears which are secured to the framework of themotorcycle below the conventional seat.

The ends of the tubes 31 opposite the brackets 32 are bent at 36 to anangle of approximately 80 or preferably a little greater and terminatein open ends 37. The tubes 31 are adapted to be mounted in a parallelcondition with the ends 37 extending upwardly to receive the reducedportions 29 of the side rails.

As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting arms may be constructed asdescribed above so that they may readily receive other terminal carryingor support means. As seen in FIG. 4, one possible modification is aninverted U 50 which serves as a touring bar and can provide support fora second rider. Referring to FIG. 5, a trail rack is illustrated whichhas generally horizontal side rails 52 and an upwardly sloping terminalsection 54. The side rails 52 are bridged by a supporting webbing 56which is preferably of metal to providev extra rigidity. It is to benoted that the trail rack is low in profile and narrow in width tolessen interference with brush or the like.

It is to be understood that although the present rack has been describedwith respect to a motorcycle, it is within the contemplation of theinventive rack that it may well be secured to other types of motorvehicles such as snowmobiles or the like.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property'orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A carrying device for use upon a motorcycle or other vehicle andadapted to be secured to the rear portion of said vehicle comprising thecombination;

a pair of spaced, generally horizontal mounting members adapted to besecured to the framework, one on each side of the vehicle and extendingrearwardly to a point behind the drivers seat, and then curved upwardly,each member terminating in onehalf of a male-female interconnection,

a load supporting element having a pair of spaced end portions matingwith the male-female interconnection of the horizontal mounting membersand extending upwardly, including a pair of side rails which areinterconnected at their upper end by a generally horizontal linkingmember presenting a smooth upper surface and a generally U-shaped shelfmember extending rearwardly from and bridging the distance between theside rails whereby articles to be carried may be positioned on saidshelf member and lashed to the side rails of the load supportingelement, and thus be secure without interfering with the normaloperation of the vehicle. 1

2. A carrying device as in claim 1 wherein the mounting members,supporting element and shelf are constructed of tubular material.

3. A carrying device as in claim 1 wherein the load supporting elementis detachable from the mounting members.

4. A carrying device as in claim 1 wherein the load supporting elementis of the general shape of a pack frame and is adapted to be received inthe pocket of a pack bag. 4

5. A carrying device as in claim 1 wherein the mounting members includeintegral fastening elements for interconnection with the shock absorbermounting means.

6. A carrying device for use upon a motorcycle or other vehicle andadapted to be secured to the rear portion of said vehicle comprising thecombination;

a pair of spaced, generally horizontal mounting members adapted to besecured to the framework, one on each side of the vehicle and extendingrearwardly to a point behind the drivers seat, and then curved upwardly,each member terminating in onehalf of a male-female interconnection,

a load supporting element having a pair of spaced end portions matingwith the male-female interconnection of the horizontal mounting membersand extending coaxially therewith, said male-female interconnectionbeing readily disconnected, said load supporting element including agenerally U- shaped portion extending in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the axis of said male-female interconnection, webbingbridging the legs of said U-shaped portion, said webbing beingpositioned on said U-shaped portion between said malefemaleinterconnection and the bight of the U- shaped portion whereby articlesto be carried may be positioned thereon.

1. A carrying device for use upon a motorcycle or other vehicle andadapted to be secured to the rear portion of said vehicle comprising thecombination; a pair of spaced, generally horizontal mounting membersadapted to be secured to the framework, one on each side of the vehicleand extending rearwardly to a point behind the driver''s seat, and thencurved upwardly, each member terminating in one-half of a male-femaleinterconnection, a load supporting element having a pair of spaced endportions mating with the male-female interconnection of the horizontalmounting members and extending upwardly, including a pair of side railswhich are interconnected at their upper end by a generally horizontallinking member presenting a smooth upper surface and a generallyU-shaped shelf member extending rearwardly from and bridging thedistance between the side rails whereby articles to be carried may bepositioned on said shelf member and lashed to the side rails of the loadsupporting element, and thus be secure without interfering with thenormal operation of the vehicle.
 2. A carrying device as in claim 1wherein the mounting members, supporting element and shelf areconstructed of tubular material.
 3. A carrying device as in claim 1wherein the load supporting element is detachable from the mountingmembers.
 4. A carrying device as in claim 1 wherein the load supportingelement is of the general shape of a pack frame and is adapted to bereceived in the pocket of a pack bag.
 5. A carrying device as in claim 1wherein the mounting members include integral fastening elements forinterconnection with the shock absorber mounting means.
 6. A carryingdevice for use upon a motorcycle or other vehicle and adapted to besecured to the rear portion of said vehicle comprising the combination;a pair of spaced, generally horizontal mounting members adapted to besecured to the framework, one on each side of the vehicle and extendingrearwardly to a point behind the driver''s seat, and then curvedupwardly, each member terminating in one-half of a male-femaleinterconnection, a load supporting element having a pair of spaced endportions mating with the male-female interconnection of the horizontalmounting members and extending coaxially therewith, said male-femaleinterconnection being readily disconnected, said load supporting elementincluding a generally U-shaped portion extending in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the axis of said male-femaleintErconnection, webbing bridging the legs of said U-shaped portion,said webbing being positioned on said U-shaped portion between saidmale-female interconnection and the bight of the U-shaped portionwhereby articles to be carried may be positioned thereon.